Family Matters
by Elfprinzess
Summary: When Rose breaks through to the Doctor, they try to have a happy family. But how can they do so when their family has barely began to grow and they are threatened? I am crap at summaries but please read. Rated T just incase
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Jack! Rift activity! Got the co-ordinates." A young woman with dark hair and dark skin.

"Come on then!" an American replied who was Jack. He pulled his World War two coat on over his broad, muscular shoulders. "Gwen! Ianto! We gotta go!"

"Coming, Ianto's gone to get the car." Gwen, a middle-aged woman with a welsh accent.

"Let's move people. Martha, got co-ordinates?" Jack yelled over everyone's preparations

"Yes Jack. I said that, didn't I?" she rolled her eyes at him .

"Well. Just checking." Jack ran out the door of Torchwood's base and waiting impatiently at the elevator for the rest of his team. Gwen, Ianto and Martha.

As the rest of his team ran into the elevator, Gwen asked, "So, What's going on?"

"Huge rift activity. Just outside of Cardiff. The flare is way beyond average size." Martha explained as they stepped out into their public office and out the door to the cool, night breeze.  
Gwen nodded as a black car came around the corner. The moment Ianto had parked, he jumped out and into the back. Jack was already in the drivers seat with Martha next to him, giving the directions.

"Go onto the free-way, Jack." Martha directed. There was a sudden beeping from the hand-held device that she was holding. "You might want to hurry. It just got bigger."

"Everyone hold on." Jack said, as he pushed his foot down on the accelerator and sped of into the night.

**_____________________________________**

She took a deep breath of fresh air. Savouring it. The air inside the void was stale but breathable. It still lacked one of the most important things to Rose Tyler at the moment. Scent and freshness. She shivered in her torn clothing and sneezed five times in a row. When she was done, she heard a black car screech to a stop in front of her. _Great. Now I have to invent some story _she thought, preparing herself to lie. Before she could gather her thoughts, four people got out of the car and walked over to where she was. One of the people held a device that was glowing and beeping at her. The car's headlights were in her face, blinding her.

"Yep. This is the spot. She must've come through." a young female spoke. Addressing the tall, broad shouldered person in the middle.

"Hello. Are you lost?" the leader asked me. His accent was American and familiar. Rose squeezed her eyes shut in her attempt to remember where she had heard him before. "Are you OK?"

That line did it. Rose remembered where she had seen this man before, she whispered, "Jack?"

"How do you know me?" Jack asked, in a guarded voice.

"It's me. Rose." She spoke louder, more confident, "Jack, I need your help."

"Rose." Jack stared at her with his mouth open. "Sure, I'll help you. Once you prove you are you."

She smiled and started laughing, but her laughing soon turned into coughs that shook her entire body. She swallowed, and in between gasps she said, "Sure Jack. 1942. Middle of German air-raid. I was hanging from a barrage balloon. Union Jack T-shirt on. I fell. your invisible spaceship that was tethered up to Big Ben caught me with some device or thingy. You asked me to turn my mobile phone off."

"Well. Welcome back Rose." Jack smiled at Rose. Rose smiled back as her eye-lids fluttered and she fell forward, in a dead faint. Jack stepped forward to catch her and lifted her up, grunting in surprise, "Some-one hasn't been eating. Let's go team. Back to base." the Torchwood team, turned around, got in the car and drove back to base, all of them confused and shocked with no idea of what had just happened.

________________________________________________________________________________

Jack stood by the bed. Rose's blonde hair was tangled around her head as he chest moved up, down, up, down in a steady rhythm that was her breathing. Martha and Gwen had changed her into some spare clothes and the cut on her leg had been cleaned, stitched closed and covered with a bandage. Martha sighed, "She's been through a lot, hasn't she?" Jack simply nodded, not looking up from Rose's face. "So, this is Rose?" she asked him, trying to start a conversation.

"yep." he replied, making it harder on Martha

"Why aren't we calling the Doctor then? He misses her. I know that much." She asked.

"We have to wait for her to wake up. She may not want to see him her while she is half dead." Jack growled. Martha flinched and Jack's expression softened. "Sorry Martha. It's just, I saw her collapse. I thought she was going to die. She looked so pale and tired and sick. I don't think she would want the Doctor to see her like this. He would panic."

"That's OK. Well, I know she wont die. I did a blood transfusion and fed her liquids and protein through the tube. She should make a full recovery." Martha patted Jack's knee. "She'll be OK."

He smiled up at her and said, "Well then, we better go explain to Gwen and Ianto. I bet they are wondering why all this fuse over one woman."

Martha nodded, "Ianto might be jealous." she said in a teasing voice.

"Well then, let's go explain." Jack stood, offering Martha his arm.

"Let's go." Martha linked her through his and they walked up towards the other two members of their team.

**_____________________________________**

"So, this man, the Doctor, he comes to Earth and saves the entire planet a couple of times then leaves without waiting to be thanked?" Gwen struggled to understand why the Doctor did all that he did.

"Yep. He used to travel with Rose but then they were separated when she was trapped on a parallel world. They loved each other. They still do." Jack continued his explanation.

"Then, after they were separated, the Doctor met me and I began to travel with him." Martha added. "But, recently, I wanted to settle down on Earth and all, so the Doctor and I parted, but I left my phone on the TARDIS, his ship, so I could call him to talk or if there was a problem I could call and he would come to help solve it."

"So, you're going to call him?" Ianto asked, only slightly grasping the true meaning behind the story.

"Yes. Once Rose wakes up, I will call the Doctor and they will be re-unite." Martha finished, happily.

"Why are you waiting until she wakes up?" Gwen asked, her head was tilted to one side.

"Because if the Doctor saw Rose, lying on the bed, deathly white and asleep, what do you think he will think?" Jack cut in smoothly.

A soft voice said from the doorway, "can you call him now?"

All the people in the room turned to see Rose standing in the doorway. She leaned against the door frame casually but if you looked closely, you could see that she was leaning on it to stay upright. "Umm. Yeah but do you want to wait until you can actually stand on your feet without support before calling him?" Martha asked, jumping up and helping Rose into a seat.

"Not really. I want to see him." Rose spoke with a determined voice, looking at Jack with a determined glare.

"OK. Martha, will you go call him? Tell him to come to the rift but don't tell him why." Jack asked Martha.

"Yep. Sure. Be back in 5." She said, walking out of the room. She called over her shoulder, "Rose, don't walk or get up. You have to rest."

Rose rolled her eyes at Martha's retreating back. "So, Rose. I think you have an explanation. How the hell are you here? You were trapped in a parallel world. If it were possible to get you back, the Doctor would've done so." Jack burst out, his curiousity no longer contained.

Rose laughed, "If you gave me a chance, I'll tell you." he shut up so Rose continued, "Back at the other world, the idiotic scientists at Torchwood found a hole into the void. It was just bigger enough to send a probe through. Which made the hole bigger. And it kept getting bigger because they kept playing with it. Soon it was big enough for a person to walk through. They were going to try it, but my dad, who is the boss, and I came back from our family holiday with Mum and Tony,"

Jack interrupted her, "Tony?"

"My little brother. Don't interrupt." Rose continued, "Dad stopped them and all but it was too late. The hole kept growing. So the scientists made a machine that closed the hole. But it would only work from the inside. So I volunteered to do it. I thought maybe I could search for this world and find the Doctor again. It took a while for me to convince my dad. And then it took even longer to convince my mum. So I was given supplies and the machine and I went through. I closed it up and kept walking. Just in any direction." Rose broke of to close her eyes. Jack was about to ask a question when she continued in a pained whisper. "I ran out of food first. Then I ran out of water. I kept walking. I forget how I cut my leg but I did. I fell down so many times. And all I could see was an endless black. Never ending black that was all around me. I don't know how I got here. There are millions and millions of parallel worlds and I managed to find the one I wanted but I felt a connection that I just followed. It led me here."

Martha came back in and said, "I called him. He's on his way here. Probably already here. Rose, I will go get him and bring him here, you are not to get up unless someone helps you. Understood?"

"Yes. Just go and hurry up." Rose was suddenly impatient. "I want to see the Doctor."

"OK. Be back soon." Martha said as she left the room.

________________________________________________________________________________

The TARDIS was parked right were the sunlight was shining, the sun was only just starting to rise so everything was bathed in an orangey glow. Martha walked right up to the door and knocked. The Doctor opened the door, smiling. "Martha! How are you?" he exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm good. What about you?" She hugged him tightly back then pulled away.

He shrugged. "The usual. So, why did you call me here?"

Martha laughed, "straight to the point. I can do that. Come on." she began walking back to Torchwood base.

**_____________________________________**

"So, what have you been doing?" the Doctor asked Martha as they were in the elevator.

"This and that. Jack, Gwen, Ianto and I saved the world last week. Stopped an alien from eating everyone and watched the Lion King." she shrugged, "Not much."

"Can you tell me why I am here yet?" the Doctor asked, trying to act like he didn't care but he failed.

Martha laughed, "No, I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises." the Doctor grumbled.

"No, because you just travel forward in time to spoil it. Now just stop asking and wait patiently." Martha told him, smiling up at him.

"Fine. It better be a good surprise." the Doctor mumbled, crossing his arms and acting like a spoilt kid who didn't get his way.

The elevator door opened and Martha led the Doctor to where Jack and Rose were waiting. Rose's chair was facing the opposite wall to the door so the Doctor didn't see her when he first came in.

"Jack! How are you?" the Doctor said, giving Jack a hug.

"Good. How are you?" Jack asked, returning the hug.

"Good." was all the Doctor said,

"He wants his surprise now. Should we tell him, or show him?" Martha added, with a grin on her face.

"Oh, I don't know. What do you think?" Jack asked Martha,

The Doctor interrupted, "I don't care, I just want to know."

Jack and Martha laughed but before they could say anything else, Rose stood up and turned to face the Doctor. She smiled at him while he stared at her with his mouth opened. She opened her mouth and said, "Here's your surprise."

The Doctor closed his eyes and whispered, "That's impossible. You, you can't be here." his breathing had sped up.

Rose took a step forward ad winced in pain but continued walking until she was right next to the Doctor, "No it's not. Nothing's impossible. It is me Doctor." he shook his head, his eyes still squeezed shut. "I'll prove it. We first met in the basement of the shop I worked at. I was giving the chief electrician the lottery money and I heard a noise in the supply room. I went in and the shop-window dummies started to move and surround me. They were going to kill me but you grabbed my hand, "as Rose said this, she grabbed the Doctor's hand and continued, "You then said your first word to me. It was 'run'. And then we ran. And I never stopped running with you. We ran an awful lot of the time."

The Doctor opened his eyes to look at Rose. He whispered, "Rose. Long time no see?"

Rose laughed, by now they were completely oblivious to Martha and Jack who were watching their re-uniting closely, happy that Rose and the Doctor were now happy, "Very long time." she stopped and bit her lip, she then went on to say, "Told you I made my choice. Told you I wasn't going to leave you."

They both laughed and the Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose's waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Rose buried her face into the Doctor's neck as he said, "Rose Tyler, I love you too." Rose looked up at him through tears and smiled. She moved forward and kissed the Doctor. He instinctively moved one arm to support her neck as he deepened the kiss and she wove her fingers through his hair, pulling herself closer to his body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I recently had writer's block and couldn't write any more for this story but I had another idea for a different story tat you are welcome to go look at. Just go to my profile.  
**

**Disclaimer: I am still not one of the most wonderful people in the world who are able to say they own Doctor Who. I still dream and wish on stars.**

**  
P.S Reviews still help make the world go round.**

**Chapter 2**

Rose looked around her. The TARDIS. It was the Doctor's home and the only thing he had left of his people. And now she was back inside it. She smiled into the air just as someone covered her eyes and whispered into her ear, "Guess Who?"

Rose laughed and tried to turn around but the Doctor's hands over her eyes prevented her. "If I get it wrong what happens?" Rose asked, mucking around.

"Hmm. I will have to give you another clue." the Doctor stated in a voice that made Rose shiver in happiness.

"in that case, I don't know who you are." Rose said cheekily.

"Well, too bad. I guess I have to make you remember." the Doctor said, spinning rose around to face him, he leaned down and pushed his lips against hers, gently at first but Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and wove her hands into his hair. She pushed her body against his and the Doctor moaned into her mouth. Just then, Jack and Martha decided to walk into the TARDIS without knocking. Rose and the Doctor jumped apart guiltily.

"You can't pretend you weren't doing anything when you are both as red as hell and the only ones in the room." Martha said, grinning.

Rose stuck her tongue out at her and looked at the Doctor expectantly. The Doctor sighed and said, "Well. We were just about to come say goodbye."

"Oh. You going already?" Jack said, trying not to laugh at the Doctor or Rose.

"Yeah. Places to see, things to do." Rose nudged him in the ribs and he glared at her. She stared back until the Doctor cleared his throat and said, "Do you two want one more trip?"

Jack and Martha looked at each other before Martha replied, "I don't know. I mean, we're really busy and..."

Jack interrupted her to say, "and we don't want to keep you too apart." the Doctor glared at him while Rose blushed.

"It wouldn't be a problem. It's only one trip. I can take you to see the start of the universe and be back before your team even realizes you were gone." The Doctor said.  
Jack groaned and said, "I'm in. but first let me call Gwen and Ianto. Are you in Martha?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Martha grinned at Rose before adding, "I'm probably going to regret it though."

"What's that suppose to mean?" the Doctor said, confused.

Rose and Martha just laughed together while they waited for Jack to tell the others where he and Martha were going.  
_______________________________________________________________

"So where to then?" The Doctor said as Jack hung up and the Doctor sent the TARDIS hurtling into space.

"I want to go see New Earth." Rose said, smiling.

"Why? You've already seen it." The Doctor said, obviously not wanting to see the planet again.

"But that didn't count cause Cassandra was controlling me. I didn't have any say over where I went or what I did." Rose argued.

"I wouldn't mind going to New Earth again...as long as it isn't the slums again." Martha added.

"He took you to New Earth. To New New York?" Rose asked. Martha nodded. "Doctor, do you even know the meaning of-"

"Anyway. Not New Earth." The Doctor interrupted.

"Why not? We have the hole planet to look at still. As long as it isn't the slums or the hospital." Rose shuddered momentarily and turned to Jack, "Do you want to go there Jack?"

"Yeah. I want to go see the pretty people." Jack said, grinning.

"It doesn't matter. We're not going." The Doctor said, crossing his arms.

"Why not? We can run on the apple grass again, go harass some cats then go meet the leader of the NNYPD." Rose said, arguing back.

"NNYPD?" Jack asked.

"New New York Police Department." the Doctor explained. He groaned and said, "Fine. We'll go there. But I will make you three pay."

Rose and Martha high-fived as the Doctor pulled a lever. The TARDIS jerked then stopped. They had arrived. Rose turned to Jack to explain, "See, in the year five billion, the sun expands and gets roasted. But then they find this planet that is exactly the same as old planet Earth so everyone comes home."

Martha continued explaining, "So they call it New Earth. And they rebuild all the cities like the original and put New in front of them all."

"So this city is actually called New New York?" Jack asked, pulling his coat on.

"Yep." The Doctor cut in, leading the way to the door. "But technically it is the 16th (can't seem to remember if it was 15th or 16th so forgive me if it is wrong) city since the original so it is technically New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

Jack just looked at the Doctor and said, "You have had way too much sugar today."

Rose cut in to say, "this isn't hyper Jack. You should wait until he gets excited because of some new toy."

the Doctor was about to protest when Martha said, "Let's go already."

**_____________________________________**

The group had left the TARDIS to walk around. Rose had spotted a shop and had immediately ran over to it with Martha after pointing it out.

"Oh My God! I have to have those shoes!" Rose squealed.

"Do you have any money?" Jack asked as the Doctor stopped to look through the window to the bookstore.

"Not yet." Rose said with an evil grin. "Wait here." she walked up to the Doctor and linked her arm through his. "Doctor. Can you do me a favour?"

The Doctor remained oblivious to Rose's plan as he said, "Depends on what it is but yeah sure." Jack and Martha were watching from the other side of the street, trying to stop themselves from laughing.

"I just need a little bit of money."

"No." the Doctor said firmly.

"Please Doctor. I just want these shoes but I need some money. Unless you want me to spoil my innocence and steal them." Rose said, pouting.

"Rose, I can't. Not after what happened last time." The Doctor said, remembering that she had gone crazy at the market on some planet when he gave her money to spend.

"Please Doctor." Rose pulled her puppy-dog put face and looked up at the Doctor.

"Arrg. Fine." he groaned and walked over to a ATM. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pulled some money out. "Don't expect anymore."

Rose practically skipped back over to Jack and Martha. "Where's our allowance?" Jack asked, crossing his arms.

Rose snorted. "If you can get money off the Doctor the same way I did then I will give you all of this." Jack mumbled. Rose smiled and said, "I didn't even get to use my secret weapon."

"What is it?" Martha asked

"Not telling unless I need to use it." Rose said, walking into the shop to buy her shoes. The Doctor came over and joined Martha and Jack as they waited for Rose to come back out. Just then, they all heard a scream of terror and Rose came racing out of the shop, shoes forgotten. The Doctor smiled and grabbed her hand. They ran off towards the scream as Jack followed. Martha sighed and followed, thinking, 'Here I thought Rose would knock some sense into the Doctor but she is just as bad as him'.

**_____________________________________**

the Doctor was first into the huge power plant where the scream had originated. Rose, Martha and Jack soon followed him inside to see a great huge alien snarling. It was huge. It was hunched over because it didn't fit in the room. It was bigger than 8 ft tall and it had huge muscled. Rose wouldn't have been able to wrap her arms around the alien's arm and make her fingers met. It was covered in slime and had horns poking up all the way down it's back. On it's nose there was a huge horn and the people that worked at the plant were trapped. It was in between the door and them.

"awesome. A Klangavilion." The Doctor said in a breathless voice then shouted, "Oi!" he picked up a piece of rock that had fallen down from somewhere and threw it at the Klangavilion. The thing turned around and roared.

Rose saw he was about to hit the Doctor so she ran out to one of the side doors near here. She reached it and opened it. She turned and yelled, "Oi! Muscle-Head! Over here!" the thing turned, saw Rose as she ran down the corridor.

The Doctor groaned and said to Jack as he ran after Rose, "You and Martha get all the people out of her."

**_____________________________________**

Rose ducked, weaved and sprinted through rooms, making sure to never get a straight hallway unless it was skinny. The thing could easily catch her if it wasn't hindered by obstacles. Rose glanced to her left and saw the Doctor running through the room next to hers. She swerved left and jumped over a barrel and caught up to the Doctor. "Hope you know where we are going cause I don't." Rose panted, out of breath from all the running.

He grinned and grabbed her hand. He swerved right then left then suddenly stopped and pulled Rose into a cupboard next to them. Rose followed the Doctor in to find herself squashed up against him. "We need to go the other way. To do that we need to be on the other side of the huge space monster." the Doctor explained as she wriggled around to try and get more comfortable in the tiny space. "Ow. That was my-" the Doctor cut off as they heard the monster's shuffling feet. They both held their breath. The Doctor opened the door once they could no longer hear the thing's breathing or feet. He grabbed Rose's hand and sprinted away, guiding her out of this room.

**_____________________________________**

Meanwhile, Jack was convincing the NNYPD to not put the plant under lock down because Rose and the Doctor were still in there. "Listen to me. You can't deadlock it, my friends are still in there, they will be two more minutes. Just wait two minutes." Jack said, with as much authority in his voice as he could manage.

"No. I have my orders and I will not disobey them." the captain said.

"Nice bravery, I'm Captain Jack Harkness by the way." Jack said, unable to help himself.

"Jack! Time and place." Martha half said, half shrieked.

"OK. OK." Jack said, backing off. Just then, he saw the Doctor coming around the corner with Rose. They were flat out sprinting for the door. Luckily the police had seen them and were waiting for them to come out before locking the doors.

Rose stumbled as she ran and her hand slipped out of the Doctor's. He stopped before Rose yelled, "Keep going. I'm right behind you."

The Doctor made it out the door as Rose picked herself up and continued running. Just then, the monster came around the corner and the police panicked. They slammed the door shut, deadlocking it just as Rose reached the door. "Rose!" the Doctor yelled. He refused to listen to the little nasty voice in the back of his head saying that she would be dead soon. The Doctor ran up to the door and tried to open it with the sonic screwdriver but couldn't. Rose looked at him through the window with a smile on her face. She pressed her hand against the glass and the Doctor rested his against hers. She pulled away and ran. The Doctor watched her retreating form and felt his hearts wrench away from his chest and disappear with the blonde haired girl running for her life.

**_____________________________________**

Rose watched his face through the small window on the glass. He was trying to get the door open but it was like the Dalek in the vault all over again. Rose pressed her hand against the window. Last time it was a barrier across the void separating them. Now it was a few inches of glass. The difference could've made Rose smile. She ignored the voice in her head saying this would be the last time she saw the Doctor again and as he pressed his hand against hers on the window she smiled at him. She pulled away and ran away from the door, the alien and the love of her life. As she ran away, it felt like her heart was leaving her chest and staying behind with the man she was leaving. The monster saw the door close and followed Rose through the plant, trying to catch it's prey.

**Author's Note: Sorry Cliffhanger. I hate them personally but I had to leave it like this.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm sorry about the delay but if any of you knew how much homework I have to do for tomorrow, you would be feeling sorry for me. Thanks to 'dreamcatcher49' for reviewing and to all of those people that read but don't review, it makes me sad but still, thanks for reading. I am sincerely sorry for the wait but I seem to have writer's block. Again.**

**Chapter 3**

Rose kept running, adrenaline and fear fueling her muscles. She knew she would not be able to last much longer, she had to find a spot to hide in and figure out how to escape. Rose spotted a cupboard. The irony of it was it was the same one as she had hid in with the Doctor. Rose dived inside and huddled silently in the corner. The alien shuffled past the cupboard as Rose held her breath, hoping that it didn't have good hearing or smell. Once she could no longer hear it, she let out the breath she had been holding and tried to overcome the panic that was spreading through her body.

**_____________________________________**

She stayed huddled in the cupboard for a couple more minutes, trying to gather her thoughts. She shifted her position to a more comfortable seat so that her phone wasn't digging into her leg. _Her phone!_ Rose realized she could call Jack with it. She listened carefully to make sure the alien wasn't near her hiding spot and dialed his number. She silently prayed that it was the right number as the phone rang.

_Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. _"Rose?" Jack answered, fear entering his voice.

"Jack. Thank god I knew the number. Listen, do you guys have a plan?" Rose whispered.

"Ummm, hold on, the Doctor wants to talk to you." Jack said.

There was a silence as the phone was swapped around and then, "Rose?"

Rose smiled into the darkness and instantly felt safe. "Doctor. Do you have a plan? Cause I don't think I can talk it into letting me go."

"Plan. I've been trying to think of one. See, Klangavilions are thick. Real thick. But they are enormous. They are super strong and not very bright which isn't normally a good combination but," The Doctor started.

Rose interrupted to ask, "How strong?"

"What, how strong? Ummm, strong enough to break down this door I am standing in front of. Why?" he asked,accusingly.

"is there a back up door? If the current door breaks?" Rose asked, a plan forming in her head.

"Yeah, Rose what are you going to do?" the Doctor asked, starting to worry about his companion.

"You'll find out soon, just make sure the area around the door is clear. I know how to get out of here. But you gotta be on stand by to activate the spare door, OK?" Rose asked, creeping out of her hiding spot.

"Sure sure. Just what are-" the Doctor tried to ask but Rose hang up before he could finish.

"Here monster, come here boy. Where are you?" Rose called softly. When she heard a roar from the Klangavilion, Rose smiled, "Come get me!" she yelled, louder. As the Klangavilion answered with a louder roar, Rose sprinted away towards the door.  
_______________________________________________________________

"Jack, clear this area. Now!" The Doctor said, trusting Rose. He was beginning to guess Rose's plan and he hated it but it was their only hope. Although, the Doctor had no idea how she would get out before the monster got out the door.

"Alright, you heard him. Clear off." Jack yelled. Glaring at anyone who hesitated. "Do you want to become the things next meal?" he yelled. At that, everyone sprinted away. Even the guards. "Pathetic." Jack muttered under his breath as he heard the thing roar.

"Jack, take Martha and go wait at a safe distance." the Doctor said, pulling his sonic screwdriver out.

"No way. We can look after ourselves, and you might need extra hands." Martha said, coming over.

"I don't want you two to get hurt while I'm helping Rose, get out of here!" The Doctor growled.

"No Doc. You heard Martha. You might need help." Jack growled back.

The two men stared at each other until the Doctor looked away, "I just don't want to lose her again. I only just got her back." he mumbled.

Jack rested his hand on the Doctor's shoulder, "You wont lose her. Not even an entire fleet of Daleks could stop her from coming back for you, after you sent her away." Jack said, trying to get the Doctor to smile.

"Or being stuck on the other side of the supposedly impossible to cross' void." Martha added.

The Doctor smiled and said, "Thanks guys." Jack went to say something but was interrupted by a huge roar near the door. "Places!" the Doctor yelled.  
_______________________________________________________________

Rose gasped for breath as she looked over her shoulder. The Klangavilion was right behind her. Rose turned the corner to see the huge, sealed door that was between herself and the Doctor. Rose used her fear to fuel her muscles as she ran towards the door. The Klangavilion, because of being so thick, didn't think to look up at where it's prey was running, it only watched the little human running for her life. It roared and Rose heard the Doctor shout something. 'good. He is at least there and doing what I said.' Rose thought as she sprinted closer and closer to the door. When she was barely a meter from it, she turned to the right sharply. The Klangavilion couldn't turn as sharp or as fast so it turned it's body, trying to slow down but it was too late. It looked up to see the door right as he hit it with a huge bang. Rose laughed and sprinted out the door "Close it now Doctor!" She yelled, hoping he was ready. She heard the sonic screwdriver and a door slam shut. She smiled weakly and collapsed to the ground, panting for breath.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled, running over and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

"can't breath." Rose gasped.

"Oops. Sorry." The Doctor said, pulling away. As Rose took a deep breath and smiled at the Doctor, he couldn't help himself. He pulled her into a hug again. "Rose, if you ever do that again, I will drag you up to Jackie and explain what you did." Rose flinched and the Doctor chuckled.

"Rosie!" Jack yelled. Rose stepped out of the Doctor's embrace only to be pulled into another bone-crushing hug from Jack.

"Jack. Good to see you again." She said, a little breathlessly.

"Likewise. You are probably the most jeopardy-friendly person I know." Jack said, trying to glare at Rose with a huge smile on his face.

"But I make everything so much more fun." Rose said back, grinning.

"I don' know about what the boys think, but that was not fun." Martha said, coming over.

"No way. You could've died." the Doctor said, becoming serious.

"Could've, didn't. There's a difference." Rose said, frowning at him.

"Excuse me sirs, madams, what are we meant to do with it now?" the commanding officer of the NNYPD came over, interrupting the conversation.

"Oh, I don't know. You're human, think of something." the Doctor said. He put his arm around Rose's shoulder and turned around. He walked back towards where the TARDIS was with Jack and Martha trailing behind.

**_____________________________________**

"Jack, Martha. Your stop." The Doctor said. They had entered the TARDIS and the Doctor and began pushing this button and that button and sent them flying all over the place. He hadn't spoken a word since leaving New Earth and Rose was getting worried.

"Doctor, Rose. Good to see you both again. Make sure to visit." Jack said, giving them both a hug.

"Doctor, look after yourself and Rose." Martha said, hugging the Doctor. She walked over to Rose and gave her a hug. Martha whispered into the other girls' ear, "Look after him. It was nice meeting you."

Rose smiled and nodded. "See you both around some time. Jack and Martha left the TARDIS, shutting the door behind them. It was silent for a while before Rose turned to the Doctor and said, "We need to talk."

"What about?" the Doctor said, pretending to be cheerful.

"Doctor, don't pretend. Something is bothering you and I want to know what." Rose said, crossing her arms.

"I'm fi-" the Doctor started,

"Don't say you are 'fine' if you value my sanity. I know that is a lie. You know that is a lie. Tell me the truth Doctor. I can help you." Rose said, walking over to where the Doctor was standing in front of the console.

"I'm still getting over what happened today. I got you back only to nearly lose you again. I'll be fine tomorrow." the Doctor said, looking at Rose.

"That is the truth but it isn't all of it. What is the real reason Doctor. I'm not going to get angry. Please?" Rose pleaded, using her puppy-dog pouting face again.

The Doctor groaned and said, "you are forbidden to use that face ever again. I don't ever want to lose you, but you're human and fragile and able to die so easily." the Doctor kicked the chair. Then sat down, bury his face in his hands. Rose was surprised at his sudden outburst but stayed silent as he continued to say, "I can't lose you again."

"Doctor, look at me." Rose said, sitting down next to him. He looked up and stared at Rose. She was shocked to see the Doctor's emotions in his eyes. He normally hid them behind a mask. His eyes were burning with fear, pain and longing. "Doctor, it's in your nature to blame yourself for everything that goes wrong but rarely anything is ever your fault. It's not your fault I'm human. And there's nothing you can do about it. So what? Just live in this moment right now, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Yeah I know that one day I am going to die while you keep living. I know that one day I will grow old and wrinkly while you stay looking young and all but I don't care. And neither should you." Something flashed in the Doctor's eyes and he looked away. "What?" Rose asked. She could tell he knew something that she didn't.

The Doctor shook his head. "I can't tell you." When Rose was about to protest but the Doctor cut in, looking back at Rose. "I promise I will tell you just not right now. I need to think it through. OK?" he asked.

"OK Doctor." Rose said, smiling. She yawned and said, "I'm going to go sleep, good-night Doctor."

The Doctor pulled Rose into a hug and said, "good-night." he pulled away and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away and smiled. Rose smiled back and walked off to her bedroom. The Doctor watched her go, deep in thought.

_______________________________________________________________

The Doctor sat on his bed, cross-legged, deep in thought. What Rose had said earlier, had made him remember something from the past. Something his people had figured out how to do. _'It's not your fault I'm human. And there's nothing you can do about it' _Rose's words echoed through his vast mind as he contemplated the thought of doing it. He couldn't, no he wouldn't put Rose through it but he is going to have to tell her. Then she is going to want him to do it and he isn't going to give in. rose deserves to live her life until an old age and then pass on in her sleep peacefully. The Doctor wasn't going to take that away from her. But still, there was that selfish, nagging voice in the back of his head voicing the thought that she would want him to do it. And he would do it. He wouldn't be alone. But he couldn't do it to Rose. Not Rose.

**Reviews, anyone? I fell like I am talking to empty air and do not know if I should continue the story. If I don't get at least 8 reviews, I'm going to stop writing the story because no-one seems to be reading.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: So so so so sorry about the lack of updates but I got caught up in another one of my stories and school and everything going on in my life, sorry to all those people who are reading this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who is going to review.**

**Chapter 4**

"So, when and where are we?" Rose asked, smiling as she pulled herself up off the cold, metal floor of the TARDIS.

"Well, judging by the polarity and gravity disturbance, I would say we are in the 37th century. We are on a planet called 'Rose Des Quatre Saisons'. It is a planet entirely of plants. There are no animals, no people, nothing but plants. Of course, there is the little bugs you find on plants that I find annoying but that's it." The Doctor said, all traces of the previous night's worries and thoughts gone.

"No people?" Rose asked.

"not a soul." the Doctor said, grinning at her like a madman as he ran over to the door and opened it.

"All to ourselves then." Rose said, teasing. She walked out the TARDIS door and gasped.

The world around her was beautiful. Rose was lost for words to describe it. The trees were towering over her head, each one unique in colour, shape or size. There was a purple one over here while a stunning blue, violet, aqua, green one over there. The flowers around the base of the trees were unique as well, a clump of purple roses with the morning dew glimmering on them. Each petal looked like a pearl. A clump of pink daisies with a clear middle under that tree. The Doctor followed Rose out and let her take the sights in before threading his fingers through hers and gently pulling her along the path that wound through the trees.

"Doctor, is it just me or can you hear singing?" Rose asked quietly. They had been walking slowly for an hour now, just sight-seeing. Taking their time now they didn't have to run for their lives. Rose was beginning to hear a slow tune that sounded beautiful. Layers on layers of beats, all different pitch, blended in perfectly, harmonizing into the perfect melody. It reminded Rose of leaving primary school, sad at leaving your friends but happy at moving on to high school.

"No, I can hear it too, it must be the Keepers." the Doctor said, frowning in confusion. "Yep, definitely the Keepers." he said, nodded. He smiled at Rose before pulling her along a different path to the one they were just taking.

"who are the keepers?" Rose asked as she followed the Doctor.

"The guardians of this place. The reason no soul has ever destroyed this place by cutting plants down to build houses is because of the Keepers. Trees that look after the plant life. It's alive. Everything is. They sing their tunes to let the plants know they are safe. They let visitors come for a while but don't normally let them hear their songs. I wonder why they're letting us hear the melodies?" The Doctor explained.

Before Rose could form a reply, the trees thinned and the pair walked into a clearing. But inside the clearing where 10 trees, sitting in a circle with two gaps between them. "Time Lord." an echo of voices said.

"Hello. I prefer the Doctor but Time Lord works. This is Rose." the Doctor said, smiling. He walked into the clearing with his hands in his pockets.

"Join us. Sit in the circle and sing." the trees offered.

"Rose, you want to? You just hum whatever you feel at the moment. Happiness. Sadness. Amazement. Anything. Just let it come." the Doctor explained, practically dragging her into the circle. They sat down and the Doctor closed his eyes. He started to hum. To Rose it sounded happy yet sad. Like the song was happy but deep down continuously sad. She realized what the Doctor had said, 'hum whatever you feel like' and knew that although the Doctor was happy he was always sad. She closed her eyes and tried to think of a tune to hum. Rose opened her eyes to glare at the Doctor as he elbowed her in the ribs. "What was that for?" she hissed, annoyed.

"Why were you singing that?" he asked, eyes wide open in surprise. His face was twisted with shock and worry at the same time.

"Singing? I wasn't singing anything." Rose said back, confused.

"Yes you were, you were humming." the Doctor said back.

"What was I humming?" Rose asked, trying to remember what she was singing. The Doctor hummed a few bars of the song and Rose recognized it almost straight away. "I hear that in my head when I am going to sleep." she explained. "Must've been singing it without realising." Rose shrugged.

"Every time you sleep?" the Doctor asked again.

"Yeah, why?" Rose asked suspiciously, aware of his state of mind. She could see it in his eyes and face. Shocked for some reason and worried. And something that seemed like fear.

"No reason. We should be getting back to the TARDIS." the Doctor said, changing the subject. Talking a little louder, the Doctor said to the trees, "Thank you for allowing us to sing with you, it was an honour but we must be going."

"Of course. Goodbye, Doctor. Bad Wolf." the Keepers said, moving away into the trees, blending in with the surroundings until they were invisible to Rose's eyes.

"Why did they call me Bad Wolf?" Rose asked, as the Doctor grabbed her arm and practically dragged her back to the TARDIS. Still holding her arm, he began to lengthen his strides with urgency. The reasons behind the urgency was oblivious to Rose but she had to jog to keep up and she was getting annoyed. "Doctor!" She said, planting her feet firmly in the ground and refusing to move an inch until he explained.

"Rose, I know you want an explanation, and I will explain, just inside the TARDIS. Please?" the Doctor asked, begging with her.

"Is it dangerous for us to be here?" Rose asked, wanting to know the reason they were heading back to the TARDIS so quickly.

"What? No! This is a neutral planet. No-one can do any harm to anyone else here. Deliberate or accident." the Doctor sighed, rubbing his face with one hand.

"Doctor, answer two questions, then I'll gladly sprint to the TARDIS then you have to explain." Rose said, not giving him an option. The Doctor nodded so Rose continued, "Question 1. Why the hurry?"

"The song you hummed is the TARDIS. Unless you are telepathic, you only hear the hum of the engines working to keep us alive cause you don't wanna suffocate when the life support turns off, I mean I won't be effected for a little while but you would just suffocate and die and that's not a good thing, not a good thing at all. I mean, unless you wanted to suffocate, I knew a friend once. He tried so hard to kill himself, again and again and again but every time something would stop him. I would walk in on him and save him, he would lose courage, the plan wouldn't work. I soon figured out-" the Doctor rambled.

"Doctor!" Rose said, interrupting him.

He stopped, blinked then said, "Right, sorry, where was I? Right, suffocating. No, the engines. So if you are telepathic you hear the TARDIS in your head, sounds like humming. Thats what you were humming. No human should be able to hear that."

"And that is so bad because...?" Rose asked.

"Because it means something is making your mind stronger telepathically and if it becomes too strong, you can burn up and die." The Doctor explained. He grabbed her hand and sprinted off towards the TARDIS again.

Rose followed, thoughts swirling through her head. _'Something was in her head? Was it an enemy or just the TARDIS, or was it cause she had traveled with the Doctor so much that the background radiation was affecting her mind?' _She shook her head to clear out her head and gratefully entered the TARDIS as the Doctor opened the doors. Rose sagged against the railing but her rest was short-lived.

The Doctor dragged her into the infirmary and she obediently sat on one of the benches, swinging her legs back and forth as the Doctor turned his screw-driver to a certain setting. "This'll only take a few moments." He muttered. Rose smiled and nodded, hoping to calm him down but the tension in his shoulders and posture didn't disappear. She stared patiently at the wall as the Doctor waved the screwdriver around her head. He stopped, muttered something that sounded like swear words and scanned her again.

After the fifth scanning, Rose decided to test her luck at getting an explanation. "Doctor. What's wrong?" No answer. "Doctor. You can tell me, honestly. I think after this many scannings, whatever results you have is correct and true." the Doctor shook his head and went to scan again. Rose frowned and grabbed the screwdriver out of his hands.

"Rose. Look, just let me scan you one more time to make sure there wasn't interference or a fault or -" the Doctor whined, desperation in his eyes.

"Doctor. Whatever the results are, is what is happening in my head. No amount of times you scanning my head will fix that." Rose said. The Doctor dropped his head and stared silently at the floor. Rose sighed and demanded, "Now, tell me what those results are." The Doctor didn't even look up. Rose placed a hand under his chin and forced his head up. Theirs eyes met for a second before the Doctor jerked his head and looked back at the floor. Rose didn't care. That second was enough for her to see what was in his eyes, the truth. He had fear and pain in his eyes. Whatever the results were, they weren't good. Rose wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him. The Doctor stayed frozen for a few moments then he thawed and wrapped his arms around her back. "Look Doctor, whatever it is, we can fix it. We can try, I'm not gonna just leave ya this soon after getting back. We can go see Jack and Martha, see if they have any ideas on what to do. We can see Sarah Jane and K9. I can, I can, learn to block my mind, or you can block it for me."

"I don't know how to." The Doctor said, barely audible. Burying his head in Rose's neck, and trying to keep his voice even.

"What?" Rose said softly, not hearing him.

"I don't know how to fix it. Your brain levels are way over the average for a human. Soon you'll start having headaches and then parts of your brain will give up and shut down and eventually you will become brain dead." he said, getting louder with every word. He spoke the last few words at normal level but his voice was laced with despair, helplessness and pain.

"But, surely we could block it, I mean, if someone is messing with my head..." Rose started.

"No-one is messing with your head. It's the reaction to when you absorbed the Time Vortex. Why it took this long to happen is beyond me but I thought I had taken all of it out and fixed all this. That was why you couldn't remember what happened, to protect your mind I took away your memories, not just blocked them. I thought I made sure there was no chance of this." The Doctor growled, pulling away from Rose's embrace and pacing the room. He yelled in frustration then kicked the bench.

Rose got up and hugged him again. He let out a sigh and held back his tears, although his body was shaking. "I can't do anything to stop this Rose. I could put it on hold for a little while longer but it is too far gone for me to stop without wiping your entire mind. All your memories, your knowledge." he whispered.

"I would rather die then lose my memories." Rose said back, keeping calm for him. "Too bad I'm only a stupid ape, not some telepathic race like yours, I would have no problems then." Rose said as a joke, forcing a laugh.

"You aren't a stupid ape. You never were." the Doctor muttered. Then he completely tensed up as what she said sank in.

Rose froze and tried to keep the worry out of her voice as she asked, "What?"

"There might be a way to fix this." The Doctor said, pulling away from her hug and not meeting her eye.

"What?" Rose said, feeling a small feeling of hope building in her chest.

"I'm not sure it'll work and I don't know how you would react but I would prefer to try then lose you, but it's too selfish of me. Don't do it, say it wouldn't work." The Doctor muttered out loud.

"Whatever it is isn't selfish cause it is saving my mind, spit it out Doctor. And don't say it wouldn't work. I still want to know what it is even if it could or couldn't work, it might give one of us an idea on how to stop it." Rose demanded.

The Doctor visibly swallowed and looked up at her. With a serious look on his face and in his eyes, he spoke in a quiet voice, "I could make you into a Time Lord."

**Author's Note:**

**There we go. That's that chapter done and dusted. Although, any mistakes I have made I am sorry. I am also sorry about the delay in chapter updates and the cliffhanger on this chapter but I couldn't resist it... "-) Sorry. Review and I will update the next chapter quicker.**

**Just to let you all know, 'Rose des quatre saisons' is French for perpetual rose. Which means unfading beauty. I thought it suited the planet in this chapter :-)**


End file.
